Police hawaldar channels inner artist, assists probe of over 100 cases
In recognition of his talent, dedication, DCP Bhoite appointed him as the first official sketch artist with the crime branch unit of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police
PUNE: 39-year-old Kushal Walunjkar’s journey from police hawaldar to ‘go-to sketch artist’ for the entire police force is nothing short of inspiring. From joining the Pimpri-Chinchwad police as a constable through the 2008 sports’ quota, to aiding the investigation of over 100 criminal cases by drawing over 150 sketches of suspects, to earning a unique place in the police force, Walunjkar has come a long way.
Hailing from Dapodi, Walunjkar never imagined that his hobby of drawing sketches would bring him such fame and recognition. As a hawaldar with the anti-encroachment department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police, Walunjkar began drawing sketches of his friends and family members during the Covid-19 pandemic. Upon posting them on social media, he got a good response and many people started approaching him for sketches. He began charging them for sketches to meet his financial needs.
In May 2021, he was allowed to participate in a seminar organised by the Central Investigation Department (CID), Pune division, in which around 80 police personnel participated. “The seminar was only for the crime branch and the police deployed at the police stations. I approached Girish Charwad who was handling the seminar, and he spoke to my seniors and allowed me to attend the seminar as a special case,” Walunjkar said. Eleven out of the 80 participants were selected for the four-month course on drawing sketches used during investigations, and Walunjkar was one among them. Upon completion of the course, Walunjkar resumed working in the anti-encroachment department but destiny had other plans in store.
On March 12, 2022, during the investigation into the rape of a minor in Induri near Dehugaon, deputy commissioner Anand Bhoite asked Walunjkar to draw a sketch of the suspect based on the information shared by the victim. “It was my first sketch for a police investigation and took me three to four hours to draw. It was finalised after confirmation from the victim,” Walunjkar recalled. Interestingly, the sketch matched the suspect’s face 90% and the latter was arrested within 24 hours.
From that point, Walunjkar never looked back. In recognition of his talent and dedication, DCP Bhoite on June 1, 2022, appointed him as the first official sketch artist with the crime branch unit of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police. Bhoite said that earlier, they used to take help from private sketch artists but availability was a problem which sometimes hampered the investigation. When private sketch artists were unavailable, they used to take the help of face recognition systems which would throw up 50 to 60 different sketches resembling the suspect’s face. Bhoite said that considering these challenges, they decided to appoint Walunjkar as a full-time sketch artist within the department. “As the police do not have a separate sketch department, we decided to start it where all possible sketches of suspects need to be stored for future reference, namely, the fingerprint department,” Bhoite said.
Another official from the Pimpri-Chinchwad police said that in the last one year, the police have taken Walunjkar’s help in every possible case, even mobile theft.
Kakasaheb Dole, deputy commissioner of police (zone 2), Pimpri-Chinchwad police, said that there have been two changes after the appointment of a full-time sketch artist. “One is that we are getting sketches easily as a result of which we are saving precious time immediately after a crime takes place, and we are developing an archive of suspects which may be useful for future reference,” Dole said.
Praveen Dixit, former director-general of police (Anti-Corruption Bureau), said, “We used to get help from local artists or computer-based software to get the desired sketches. But computer-based sketches are totally dependent upon the data provided. I think human intelligence is far better than artificial intelligence to get more accurate results.” Dixit said sketches of suspects are crucial evidence under the Indian Evidence Act and that Walunjkar should be further trained so that he can train other policemen from the department.
From June 2022 till date, Walunjkar has drawn sketches of 153 suspects, contributing to investigations across Maharashtra. Earlier, the police would pay private sketch artists ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 depending on the level of difficulty. Due to Walunjkar’s appointment however, the department is saving nearly ₹7 to ₹8 lakhs per year, said another official from the Pimpri-Chinchwad police.
According to Walunjkar, it is important to first understand the crime from the victim after which he notes down minute details of the suspects such as clothes, body posture, height, age, hairstyle and injury marks. The age of the suspect is very important while drawing the sketch, Walunjkar said. He recalled a case where his sketch did not match with the actual suspect because the victim was unable to provide the exact age details of the suspect. “The suspect was about 30 years old but he looked older than his actual age due to which the victim was confused. Only after we paraded 20 to 25 people before the victim, did we come to know the age-related details following which, I managed to draw a sketch that matched 90% with the actual suspect,” said Walunjkar.
In another case where a decomposed body was recovered from the interior area of Panshet dam in October 2022, only one local cow herder had seen the dead body before its decomposition but he avoided talking to the police. The Pune rural police called Walunjkar to draw a sketch with the help of the cow herder… “The herder had seen the body from only one side and for six to seven seconds only so it was difficult for him to elaborate on details. After asking him a number of questions, I drew a sketch of the deceased person. The sketch helped in solving the murder case,” Walunjkar said. It’s hardly surprising that Walunjkar has received multiple awards, the latest being the director-general of Maharashtra police medal for his contribution to the police department.
PUNE: 39-year-old Kushal Walunjkar’s journey from police hawaldar to ‘go-to sketch artist’ for the entire police force is nothing short of inspiring. From joining the Pimpri-Chinchwad police as a constable through the 2008 sports’ quota, to aiding the investigation of over 100 criminal cases by drawing over 150 sketches of suspects, to earning a unique place in the police force, Walunjkar has come a long way.
Hailing from Dapodi, Walunjkar never imagined that his hobby of drawing sketches would bring him such fame and recognition. As a hawaldar with the anti-encroachment department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police, Walunjkar began drawing sketches of his friends and family members during the Covid-19 pandemic. Upon posting them on social media, he got a good response and many people started approaching him for sketches. He began charging them for sketches to meet his financial needs.
In May 2021, he was allowed to participate in a seminar organised by the Central Investigation Department (CID), Pune division, in which around 80 police personnel participated. “The seminar was only for the crime branch and the police deployed at the police stations. I approached Girish Charwad who was handling the seminar, and he spoke to my seniors and allowed me to attend the seminar as a special case,” Walunjkar said. Eleven out of the 80 participants were selected for the four-month course on drawing sketches used during investigations, and Walunjkar was one among them. Upon completion of the course, Walunjkar resumed working in the anti-encroachment department but destiny had other plans in store.
On March 12, 2022, during the investigation into the rape of a minor in Induri near Dehugaon, deputy commissioner Anand Bhoite asked Walunjkar to draw a sketch of the suspect based on the information shared by the victim. “It was my first sketch for a police investigation and took me three to four hours to draw. It was finalised after confirmation from the victim,” Walunjkar recalled. Interestingly, the sketch matched the suspect’s face 90% and the latter was arrested within 24 hours.
From that point, Walunjkar never looked back. In recognition of his talent and dedication, DCP Bhoite on June 1, 2022, appointed him as the first official sketch artist with the crime branch unit of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police. Bhoite said that earlier, they used to take help from private sketch artists but availability was a problem which sometimes hampered the investigation. When private sketch artists were unavailable, they used to take the help of face recognition systems which would throw up 50 to 60 different sketches resembling the suspect’s face. Bhoite said that considering these challenges, they decided to appoint Walunjkar as a full-time sketch artist within the department. “As the police do not have a separate sketch department, we decided to start it where all possible sketches of suspects need to be stored for future reference, namely, the fingerprint department,” Bhoite said.
Another official from the Pimpri-Chinchwad police said that in the last one year, the police have taken Walunjkar’s help in every possible case, even mobile theft.
Kakasaheb Dole, deputy commissioner of police (zone 2), Pimpri-Chinchwad police, said that there have been two changes after the appointment of a full-time sketch artist. “One is that we are getting sketches easily as a result of which we are saving precious time immediately after a crime takes place, and we are developing an archive of suspects which may be useful for future reference,” Dole said.
Praveen Dixit, former director-general of police (Anti-Corruption Bureau), said, “We used to get help from local artists or computer-based software to get the desired sketches. But computer-based sketches are totally dependent upon the data provided. I think human intelligence is far better than artificial intelligence to get more accurate results.” Dixit said sketches of suspects are crucial evidence under the Indian Evidence Act and that Walunjkar should be further trained so that he can train other policemen from the department.
From June 2022 till date, Walunjkar has drawn sketches of 153 suspects, contributing to investigations across Maharashtra. Earlier, the police would pay private sketch artists ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 depending on the level of difficulty. Due to Walunjkar’s appointment however, the department is saving nearly ₹7 to ₹8 lakhs per year, said another official from the Pimpri-Chinchwad police.
According to Walunjkar, it is important to first understand the crime from the victim after which he notes down minute details of the suspects such as clothes, body posture, height, age, hairstyle and injury marks. The age of the suspect is very important while drawing the sketch, Walunjkar said. He recalled a case where his sketch did not match with the actual suspect because the victim was unable to provide the exact age details of the suspect. “The suspect was about 30 years old but he looked older than his actual age due to which the victim was confused. Only after we paraded 20 to 25 people before the victim, did we come to know the age-related details following which, I managed to draw a sketch that matched 90% with the actual suspect,” said Walunjkar.
In another case where a decomposed body was recovered from the interior area of Panshet dam in October 2022, only one local cow herder had seen the dead body before its decomposition but he avoided talking to the police. The Pune rural police called Walunjkar to draw a sketch with the help of the cow herder… “The herder had seen the body from only one side and for six to seven seconds only so it was difficult for him to elaborate on details. After asking him a number of questions, I drew a sketch of the deceased person. The sketch helped in solving the murder case,” Walunjkar said. It’s hardly surprising that Walunjkar has received multiple awards, the latest being the director-general of Maharashtra police medal for his contribution to the police department.
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